Up the Creek
Up the Creek Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Empty canoe sections
- Indians (paddlers; lookout at the bow; steersman at the stern)
- Indian with bow
- Indian with lasso
- Chief
- Shaman
- Totem
- Loot and Trophies (Eagle, Furs, Tobacco, Firewater, Dynamite, Wigwam, Squaw)
- Hunters (Bear Hunter, Buffalo Hunter, Cowboy, Prospector (gold miner), Lumberjack, Soldier)
- Hunters' Loot (Bear, Buffalo, Horse, Gold, Logs, Cannon - each loot is divided into 2 cards)
For the number of cards see the table at the end of the rules.
Players strive to finish the game with the most valuable canoes, in which the length of completed canoes, loot and trophies, hunters with loot and special cards add victory points. Players can use Indians with bow or lasso to affect other players' canoes. They can also use a completed canoe to attack other canoes with devastating results.
Object of the Game
Players collect cards to build Indian canoes. Each player tries to build three completed canoes; the longer the better, since a longer canoe can hold more Indians and treasures. Each card in a completed canoe earns points at the end of the game. The player with the most victory points is the winner.
Setup
Shuffle all the cards and divide them into three decks. Place the decks in the center of the table. Also leave some space for the discard pile, which will form during the game. If any of the draw decks runs out during the game, the discard pile must be shuffled to form a new draw deck.
The youngest player starts the game; play passes clockwise.
Game Play
On his turn a player reveals cards one at a time from any of the draw decks until one of the following events occurs:
- A card is revealed that duplicates a card already in one of the player's three rows.
- One of the cards Lasso, Bow and Arrows, or Wild Axe is revealed.
- With the drawn card the player completes one of his canoes.
- A card is revealed that the player does not want or cannot play into any of his canoe rows. In this case the card is placed in the discard pile.
During his turn a player may draw cards from one or several draw decks. The player may play a card immediately if this does not contradict the canoe-building rules. If a card cannot be played, the player must put it in the discard pile.
Canoe Building Rules
The player places a card in one of the three rows in front of him. There are certain restrictions on the number of cards in a row and on the position of cards relative to each other. Each of the three rows may be at most 14 cards long. A new card must be placed so that it touches one of the already placed cards horizontally, vertically or diagonally (except, of course, the very first card).
A player may never place two identical cards in the same row (even if the cards are placed into different canoes). The colour of the numbers on a card does not matter when determining whether cards are identical.
A card placed in any row cannot be moved or replaced with another (with one exception, see below).
A bow card may be placed only if there is exactly one stern card to the right of it. Likewise, a stern card may be placed only if there is exactly one bow card to the left of it. This restriction prevents carelessly placing several stern/bow cards in a row. Only canoes that have no empty places and that have both a bow and a stern are considered completed.
The smallest completed canoe consists of only a stern card and a bow card. It does not matter whether the canoe has Indians or not. Stern and bow cards with no Indians depicted have no fighting strength (see below) but can be used to complete a canoe. A canoe consisting only of stern and bow cards has no fighting strength, but it earns two points at the end of the game.
Indian Cards
On Indian cards there is a red or black number at the top. This number is the fighting strength of the card. The sum of all such numbers in a completed canoe is the fighting strength of the canoe. The colour of the number matters only if you use the special variant "Indian Tribes".
Special Indian Cards
Lasso. When a player reveals a Lasso card and places it in any of his rows, he may steal one card of his choice from any incomplete canoe of another player. He immediately takes this card and places it in one of his rows. All other cards in the other player's incomplete canoe stay in place, so an empty space may remain in that canoe. A Totem card can also be stolen with a Lasso. However, a player may not take cards from completed canoes. If no card can be stolen, the player loses the special action of the Lasso card.
Bow and Arrows. When a player reveals a Bow and Arrows card and places it in any of his rows, he may immediately shoot and hit an Indian card (with Indian or Indians) in any incomplete canoe of another player. That card is placed in the discard pile. The Totem cannot be shot. A player may not shoot Indian cards in completed canoes, bow and stern cards that carry Indians, or Totem and treasure cards. If no Indian card can be shot, the player loses the special action of the Bow and Arrows card.
Wild Axe. When a player reveals a Wild Axe card, he must immediately take one of his completed canoes and place all its cards in the discard pile (together with the Wild Axe card). The Wild Axe does not touch incomplete canoes. If the player has no completed canoe, the Wild Axe has no effect and the card is placed in the discard pile.
Totem. The Totem is a protection card. A canoe with a Totem card is protected and cannot be attacked by other players' canoes (see the piracy rules), whether it is completed or not. However, a Wild Axe can sink a canoe with a Totem. A Totem can also be stolen with a Lasso card.
Shaman. If there is a Shaman in the attacking canoe, the player may attack two different canoes, which may belong to different players. The attacker may divide the fighting strength of the attacking canoe between the attacks as he chooses.
Treasure Cards
Treasure cards give the player additional victory points at the end of the game. There are seven types of single treasure cards: Squaw, Dynamite, Eagle, Furs, Tobacco, Wigwam, Firewater. Each of these cards gives the player 10 points (the number shown at the bottom of the card).
There are also six types of composite treasure cards: Cannon, Bear, Buffalo, Logs, Gold, Horse. They also give 10 points each separately. However, a player who manages to put together a completed pair of such cards (for example, a whole horse) gets double points for them. If the player also has the accompanying character (Soldier, Bear Hunter, Buffalo Hunter, Lumberjack, Prospector, Cowboy) in addition to the corresponding pair, the player gets triple points for these three cards together. Each composite treasure card has a special symbol so that it can be determined which three-card combination it belongs to.
Because collecting composite treasure cards is very important for getting the most victory points, there is one exception to the rule forbidding moving placed canoe cards. If a player already has one composite treasure card and reveals another from the same combination, he may shift the other canoe cards in order to place the new card next to the previous one. The cards may be shifted to the right or to the left at the player's choice. Cards may be shifted in both incomplete and completed canoes. However, this must not make a row longer than 14 cards. If a row already consists of 14 cards, the player must place the new card in any of the other rows, and he does not get the bonus for completing the combination.
Piracy Rules
As soon as a player completes any of his canoes, he may immediately attack another player's canoe. The attacked canoe may be completed or incomplete, but its fighting strength must be less than the fighting strength of the attacking canoe. The fighting strength of a canoe is the sum of the strengths of all Indian cards in that canoe (the number at the top of the card). The player chooses the canoe he wants to attack and removes it from the other player's field. All other cards in that player's rows stay in place. The Indian cards from the attacked canoe are placed in the discard pile. Treasure cards and empty-section cards from the attacked canoe become the property of the attacking player and are immediately placed in one of his rows (cards cannot be added to already completed canoes).
Each completed canoe may attack only once. If, when a canoe is completed, there are no other canoes that can be attacked, the player loses the ability to attack. If as a result of a successful attack a player takes cards and with them completes another canoe, he may immediately attack with the newly completed canoe.
End of the Game
As soon as a player completes his third canoe, he may, if he wishes, end the game immediately. If he does, all players count their points and the winner is determined. If the player chooses to continue, the game goes on until someone completes a third canoe, or this player completes his fourth canoe and decides to end the game. The game also ends if all the decks run out (all cards are already lying in the players' rows).
Scoring
Only completed canoes earn points at the end of the game. For convenient counting it is best to place all incomplete canoes in the discard pile after the game ends.
Victory points are given for the length of the canoe and for treasure cards:
- In a canoe 2-7 cards long, each card gives 1 point.
- In a canoe 8-14 cards long, each card gives 2 points.
- Each single treasure card gives an additional 10 points.
- Each pair of matching composite treasure cards together (cannon, bear, buffalo, logs, gold, horse) gives double points: (10+10)x2 = 40 points.
- If next to such a pair there is also the matching accompanying character (soldier, bear hunter, buffalo hunter, lumberjack, prospector, cowboy), the full combination gives triple points: (10+10+10)x3 = 90 points.
- One composite treasure card and an accompanying character in the same canoe count as usual: 10+10 = 20 points.
Examples (from the illustrations):
- 6x1 + (10+10+10)x3 = 96 points
- 6x1 + 1x10 = 16 points
- 8x2 + 1x10 = 26 points
- 8x2 + (10+10+10)x3 + 10 = 116 points
- 7x1 + 10 + 10 = 27
Variant: "Indian Tribes"
This variant is for experienced players. All Indian cards now belong to one of two tribes: the Red Foot tribe and the Black Foot tribe. The following is added to the standard rules:
- Only Indians of the same tribe may be placed in the same canoe.
- A Black Foot canoe may attack only a Red Foot canoe, and vice versa.
- Canoes without Indians may be attacked by both tribes.
Card Table
Card counts are given as total (red+black) for the Basic set and the Expanded set. Fighting strength (FS) and loot value are as listed.
| Card | FS / Loot | Basic set | Expanded set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 0 / 0 | 8 | 10 |
| Middle | 0 / 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Stern | 0 / 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 1 Paddler (bow) | 1 / 0 | 8 (4+4) | 12 (6+6) |
| 1 Paddler (stern) | 1 / 0 | 8 (4+4) | 12 (6+6) |
| 1 Paddler | 1 / 0 | 10 (5+5) | 10 (5+5) |
| 2 Paddlers |
Additional Cards (Variations)
The additional cards are for making changes to the game:
- By adding the Lasso and Bow to the game, you make the game more dynamic.
- After capturing a canoe, send the Indian cards to the discard pile, but take the corresponding empty canoe sections for yourself.